Annotations and Discussions of Textbooks and Papers Using a Web-based System.

Textbook reading over many decades for higher education students is commonly reported at 30% or less. The objective of this paper is to integrate an existing static textbook with modern web tools to increase student interaction. Using a web-based platform called Perusall (perusall.com), students in a graduate course in fluid mechanics annotated a traditional textbook and journal papers. Students' questions about or comments on the readings were awarded a fraction of the total grade for the course. Features used to engage students in textbook readings will be discussed as well as example responses, scoring, inter-student discussions, faculty intervention, and end of semester survey. The quantity and quality of comments were graded using machine-learning algorithms built into the platform. Each comment was auto-graded on a 0, 1, or 2-point scale, the machine scoring agree very well with the professional judgment of the instructor. The spacing of comments across each assignment was accounted for also, which helps insure reading of the entire assignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]